I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much
Nathan applied pressure to Mag's wound frantically trying to staunch the seemingly endless flow of blood. He knew if he let his Repo self take over he would stay calm, but then again, it was that part of his mind that had gotten them into most of this trouble in the first place, so he pushed the hissing voice away. Mag opened her eyes weakly, locked her gaze with his, and gave him a sad smile.
Fate was a bitch. Just when they should finally have the chance to be happy it was taken away from them so quickly.
Shiloh was at her side in an instant, it had taken her just a little while longer to run from the altar.
"Pleasedon'tdie!" She gasped, the words slurring together. "Please don't die Mag! Please!" She whispered over and over again getting louder and louder as she became hysterical.
Mag meanwhile was doing everything she could to not scream from the pain. Seeing Shiloh's panicking face though, she spent the last bit of her energy and raised her hand to Shiloh's cheek. This accomplished, she lost consciousness.
Shiloh looked up at her dad helplessly, fought to not cry for a moment, and then gave up, freely sobbing and trying not to think about what everyone else must be thinking. Her heart broke as she realized that her godmother might not survive. They both stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity; Nathan pressing the skirt of Mag's ruined dress to her wound and fighting his own battle with the Repo Man, and Shiloh crying and crushing Mag's hand in her own.
The paramedics finally arrived after what seemed like years, sirens screaming and breaking up the pandemonium that had broken out after the gunshot. Two ambulances screeched to a halt nearby and it seemed like a sea of medics flooded the area, immediately rushing to the two prone forms on the ground.
Shiloh backed up a few steps, suddenly feeling lost and completely out of place as the men quickly and professionally assessed the situation and began working. Nathan was trying to reason with himself, but even though he knew that no one could hurt her anymore he still had a hard time relinquishing Mag when the medic pushed him aside.
Mag's limp body was pulled onto a stretcher and quickly carried away, leaving Nathan and Shiloh to race after them. They both made it over to the ambulance before one of the paramedics turned and addressed them in a short, clipped tone.
"I'm sorry sir, but we can only take one person per ambulance."
Nathan looked helplessly to Shiloh. Shiloh realized what he wanted and nodded, and she watched the relief flood his face. She walked to the next ambulance where Rotti was being carried and watched her father hop through the doors as they closed.
Shiloh felt the impatience slowly squeeze the air out of her lungs. The medics were taking it slower and more carefully with Rotti. It must have taken them about 15 minutes to get Rotti prepped for travel where it had taken only moments with Mag. Guess the Voice of GeneCo took precedence over the Head of GeneCo.
The drive to the hospital was excruciating. Nasty thoughts and worries buzzed around her mind like bees.
'What if she dies?'
'What if she is dying right now?'
'What if she wants to see me?'
'What if she is asking for me right now?'
'What if dad is telling her that I'll be here soon?'
'What if she dies before I get there?'
Shiloh felt completely helpless. She started to pray; the same prayer she had heard Mag whispering in her ear as she had lain in that hospital bed so long ago.
oOOo
Rotti opened his eyes suddenly. He was confused for a moment and then the pain hit him. He didn't want to lose consciousness just then, and looked around. To his infinite surprise, he saw Shiloh sitting as close to the door of the ambulance and she could possibly get, poised to jump out the minute they opened.
With nothing else to do, he looked at her. He took in the bloodstains on her dress and the lost look on her face. He saw what he had done to her and, again to his surprise, couldn't face it he closed his eyes again.
Shiloh wiped away her tears angrily, determined to stay strong until she knew that Mag was okay. Once they had arrived at the hospital she wasted no time in jumping out of the vehicle and heading for her father. Rotti was unable to let her go without telling her how sorry he was. He rasped out her name as loudly as the oxygen mask would allow and she turned back as the paramedics unloaded him. She watched him try to apologize for a moment, gave him a disgusted glare, and turned and continued on her way to the emergency room.
Rotti could only watch her go, feeling a twinge of emotion he could only describe as regret. The girl really had made him soft.
oOOo
Shiloh walked into the waiting room and dropped into a chair next to her father. She tried pulling her knees up to her chest, but was hampered by the long skirt of her dress. She settled for holding her head in her hands.
"Mag is going to be okay." Shiloh said. Her voice wavered but her determination to believe that fact was all that was holding her together. Nathan nodded once, before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Shiloh leaned against him and started crying again.
Nathan felt helpless and could only whisper "I hope so."
Not long after that a Gentern came in to check call the next patient into the examining room. The blood stains on Shiloh's dress and Nathan's borrowed clothes caught her attention. She walked over to them and put a hand on Shiloh's shoulder.
"I have some scrubs I can give you for the time being. It may be a while until you hear something and I'm sure you don't want to wait in those clothes."
Shiloh looked at her dad, and it broke his heart that she thought she had to get his approval for something as little as that. He nodded ad watched as Shiloh followed the Gentern down the hall. She came back barefoot and carrying a plastic bag that contained her dress and shoes. The scrubs she was wearing were a size too big, drowning her small frame and if it the circumstances were different Nathan would have grinned at how comical she looked. But they weren't, so he sighed and took his turn changing.
oOOo
Sometime around 2:00 that morning Shiloh fell asleep. Her dreams attacked her from every angle with the mistakes she had made.
In her dream she was walking in the graveyard with the Graverobber. They passed by her mother's grave, her ghost rising from the ground and whispering 'murderer' as she past.
"It started with your mother; if you hadn't been born she would still be alive." Graverobber said, the grin still on his face.
They passed the grave and her mother's ghost fell into step behind her, still calling her a murderer.
"If you hadn't killed your mother, your father would never have been forced to be a Repo man." He said this time. Too many ghosts to count rose out of the ground and watched them pass, hissing at her and falling into step behind her mother.
"Monster, Devil's Child, Murderer!"
Shiloh could do nothing. The Graverobber smirked at her, pulling her to a stop in front of Amber, Pavi, and Luigi's graves. They too rose out of the ground.
Amber's faceless corpse grinned insanely at her. Shiloh shuddered and cried harder. "I didn't mean...I don't..." Unable to form words Shiloh took off, running through the graveyard and passing hissing ghosts until she tripped over a broken headstone and fell to her hands and knees at the foot of a fresh grave.
Shiloh stared at the ground sobbing until she was surrounded by ghosts, the names they hissed filled her head and she cried out against them, slapping her hands over her ears and screaming at the top of her lungs. All of a sudden there was complete silence, everything disappeared and all she could see was a pale light reflecting off of the headstone in front of her. She looked up, gasping when the Graverobber rose slowly from behind it.
"Let's face it kid, everything you touch dies."
Shiloh looked at the name written on the stone and screamed.
oOOo
Nathan was jolted from his dozing by Shiloh flailing next to him and screaming Mag's name as she awoke. Nathan held Shiloh as she shook, and heard her whimper Mag's name a few times before she finally calmed down enough to fall back to sleep in his arms. He gently placed her back down and grabbed the scratchy blanket the Gentern had thoughtfully left behind, covering her gently and brushing Shiloh's hair from her face.
Not long after that Shiloh woke up again and found her father pacing the room, eyes never leaving the floor, hands crossed in front of his chest. She watched him, mind blank, mesmerized by the movement in the otherwise empty and still waiting room. All the other patients must have been taken care of already.
Both their attentions snapped to the doctor as he walked into the waiting room. Nathan quickly stood up from the chair he had somehow ended up sitting in again and Shiloh jumped up beside him, both asking questions at the same time. The doctor held up his hands against their interrogation and started out with the one answer they were both looking for.
"We have her stable right now. She was very lucky, a little down and to the right and the bullet would've hit her heart. As it is, the bullet missed her vital organs and we were able to stop the bleeding. Given time, she'll be as good as new."
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief, his worst fears were behind him and Mag was going to be fine. He gave the doctor a full out grin and opened his mouth to ask if they could see her when Shiloh jumped in and interrupted him.
"Is the baby okay?"
Nathan's eyes grew wide as he processed what Shiloh had just said. "Baby?"
The doctor smiled at the girl before answering. "The baby is just fine."
Crying out in relief Shiloh threw herself at the doctor, hugging him with all the force she could muster. "Oh thank God!"
Nathan was still in shock. "What baby?" He asked in a dazed voice. At his question, Shiloh let go of the rigid doctor and looked at him sheepishly before elbowing her father.
"Can we see her?"
"I'm sorry, but right now I want to have her under observation for a few hours before we let anyone in. Why don't you both go home and get some rest for right now. I promise to call if anything changes."
Nathan, who had by now regained some composure, nodded. Shooting a look at Shiloh he led her over to the plastic seats they had been sitting in before. "Explain."
"We just found out yesterday and I know that she wanted to tell you. She was so scared when she found out and it didn't help that we were fighting. I just wish I could tell you in a better way."
Nathan paled, he needed to know. "Is the baby Rotti's?"
Shiloh stood up quickly. "Are you nuts? Mag would have killed herself before she ever slept with Rotti! She told me what happened between you… She says that you're the father."
Nathan closed his eyes and was assaulted with memories from their night together. Obviously it was possible. He opened his eyes and looked at Shiloh, smiling for a moment before pulling her into a hug. Shiloh was the first to pull back, a silly smile on her face and tears in her eyes. She laughed lightly for the first time in weeks and stood up. "I don't want to leave, but there is something I have to take care of back at Mag's house. Can we go there really quick?"
Nathan nodded and walked over to the receptionist.
"Can you call a cab for us?"
The young, frazzled-looking woman looked him over once before huffing that it would be there soon.
The cab company was a quick, and the car got there in less than 15 minutes, though to Shiloh, it seemed like hours. They fought their way through a sea of reporters shouting questions and ducked into the cab.
Once they had gotten to the Largo estate they climbed out of the car and walked through the media circus to get through the gates. Microphones were shoved in their faces as they dashed past, nearly knocking the eager reporters over in their rush to get onto the grounds.
They managed to get to the cottage with no problems. After opening the door Nathan was introduced to the home that Mag had taken Shiloh into for the first time. He followed Shiloh as she started whistling and clapping her hands gently. She ducked into the kitchen. Nathan was about to follow suit when he spotted a few pictures of both Mag and Shiloh taken over the last few weeks sitting on the mantel.
Shiloh came back into the living room and smiled when she saw the picture her dad was holding. "That was taken during a recording session. Mag and I were working on a duet for my album." The picture showed the two of them standing in the recording booth together and making faces at the camera.
Nathan smiled at the picture and put it down gently; he had missed so much. He turned around to see what else Mag had put up when he noticed the papers scattered on the floor. While Shiloh disappeared down the hall Nathan started picking up papers and reading them. He was just about to set them on the coffee table when Shiloh shrieked. In his rush to get down the hall he scattered them all over the floor again. Once he had reached the open doorway to what he could only assume was Shiloh's bedroom a strange sight met his eyes. The bedroom was a disaster and sitting in the middle of it, curled up with his head resting on Shiloh's teddy bear, was a small puppy. Shiloh turned and looked at her dad, a sheepish look on her face as she explained herself.
"Daddy, meet Maestro. I think he got bored while we were gone."
oOOo
Mag woke up to an empty room with the sound of medical equipment beeping in the background. She looked around and tried to sit up. A white-hot pain shot through her body and she fell back against the bed.
"Okay Maggie, let's not do that again anytime soon."
She looked around the room, down at the IV that was stuck in the back of her hand, and at the ceiling. For a moment, the sight was a strange thing, foreign and unfamiliar, and for that second, she thought it was 18 years ago and she was just waking up from her eye surgery. As it was, everything was fuzzy and far away, even her thoughts seemed to move sluggishly, like they were a thick syrup oozing down an incline. Her eyelids felt heavy, and the colors seemed to blur into each other.
She was only able to stay awake long enough to see a doctor come in holding a chart.
"Mrs. Largo, you're awake!" He started, only to be interrupted by a drugged Mag.
"Isnot Largo, Nathan 'jected. MMMMnot... Largo…." She slurred. The doctor frowned as Mag passed out again, head falling back onto the pillows.
oOOo
When Mag opened her eyes for the second time she was met with the sight of a girl with black hair and pale skin half lying on the bed and holding her right hand dead asleep. She was very familiar-looking, strikingly, unsettlingly familiar –looking.
"Marni?" She thought, the question hanging open in her mind. She watched her for a moment as the girl slept, wracking her fuzzy brain for the name. Same bone structure, same hair, same skin…. But something was off.
"Shiloh."With the recognition everything fell into place and the cloud lifted. Marni, Nathan, Shiloh, Marni dying. Rotti. Rotti trying to…
"Okay, stop there. Just STOP Maggie."
Oh God. The baby.
"Okay… Don't panic. Don't panic. DON'T PANIC! Breathe in, breathe out. Stay calm."
She looked away from Shiloh and saw Nathan asleep in the chair. As she shifted a sharp pain rushed through her body. Getting shot was no fun. Let's make a mental note to not do that again.
Okay. The not panicking thing wasn't working.
"Shiloh?" She tried to keep the desperation out of her voice and almost succeeded.
Shiloh awoke and slowly straightened up; smiling when she realized it was Mag and not the nurse. Shiloh just looked for a moment.
"Oh God Mag! Thank goodness! I was so worried about you and that you weren't going to wake up and…."
A confused look crossed Shiloh's features for a moment as she felt Mag's grip turn vise-like.
"Oh my God Mag! I'm so sorry! The baby's fine."
Tears of relief filled her eyes momentarily. Her hand went to her stomach and her eyes went to Nathan, who was sleeping slumped forward in an uncomfortable-looking chair nearby. For a moment she let the monitors beep out her beats of her heart.
Shiloh followed her godmother's gaze. "Daddy knows. He was there when I asked the doctor."
Mag looked at Shiloh guardedly for a moment before she raised her eyebrow in question.
"I think he's happy about it." Shiloh answered. Mag turned her gaze back to Nathan, but not before Shiloh saw a small smile on her face.
As if he could feel her eyes on him he started to wake up. She smiled when she saw him blink a few times, looking very childish.
"Welcome back Maggie. You scared us for a while there." Nathan whispered, straightening up before leaning forward and kissing her forehead.
"Nate, I..." At the look on his face Mag trailed off, deciding that he could be the one to bring up this particular subject. Nathan turned to Shiloh and gave her a significant look, the kind of look that made her stand up and tell Mag that she was going to find the doctor before she hastily exited the room.
Nathan sighed and moved around the bed to take Mag's hand. He held it between both of his and looked down at their intertwined fingers before starting.
"I almost lost you... both of you." His eyes flashed up to hers for a second before returning to their hands. "Are you okay with this?" He didn't allow Mag time to answer before he continued.
"I mean, we're sort of a packaged deal. Conceive one get two free..." He trailed off at his lame joke, finally meeting Mag's eyes and holding her gaze. Mag didn't know whether to laugh or cry so she settled for both. Nathan held her close and she buried her head in his arms.
Just then the doctor came in, obviously embarrassed about ruining the moment between them. He cleared his voice and asked Nathan to clear the room so he could check Mag over. Nathan looked at her hesitantly, and she nodded slightly. He left the room begrudgingly, and decided to pace until the doctor left. He saw Shiloh walk down the hall to him and ask why he was out of the room.
"The doctors checking over Mag. He'll be out soon and tell us what he finds."
The doctor came out a short while later to tell them the good news.
"If everything goes well in the next week then she can go home, though she will most likely be sore for a while. I'll give you a referral to a physical therapist, she'll need to do that three times a week to make sure that her muscles don't shrink."
Smiling and thanking the doctor, the Nathan went back in and resumed his post on the side of Mag's bed, Shiloh plopped down on the chair he had abandoned. Mag sighed happily. She hadn't felt this taken care of since before Shiloh was born.
"Did the doctor say when I can leave?" She asked, eyes pleading them for an answer. Shiloh smiled as her dad immediately told her what the doctor had said. It looked like he was going to be wrapped around her finger just as much as he was Shiloh's.
Shiloh poured Mag a glass of water and waited until she had taken a few swallows.
"Um… Mag? There's something I have to tell you."
Mag's eyes shot up and looked at her quizzically. "Shiloh, what's wrong?"
Shiloh winced. "Rotti…. He…. He's still alive. The paramedics were able to get him to the hospital before he… Well… you know, died."
The haunted look that flashed across Mag's face startled Nathan. He grabbed her hand. "Whatever happens we will get through this."
Mag swallowed her fears and sighed loudly.
"I don't know whether to hate him or pity him. At least it's over now."
Shiloh nodded. The silence that fell over the room was thick and awkward, and finally, Shiloh changed the subject. She started telling Mag about the mess she had found when they had gone to feed Maestro when Mag got a sheepish look on her face.
"I'm afraid I made that mess when I went back to the cottage to look for you." Shiloh laughed at the look on her face and it wasn't long until Mag joined in. Nathan just smiled at the two of them and shook his head.
Visiting hours didn't last long enough for the three of them, but Mag had tired quickly after the doctor had come in and had fallen asleep shortly after. After their short talk with Mag they had decided to move back to Nathan's house. The memories that surrounded the cottage made it a place Mag never wanted to go back to, and Shiloh quickly seconded the sentiment. Mag had never been able to shake the fear that she felt every time the lights were off and she was alone in the house, even when she knew Shiloh was so close by.
While Mag was recuperating Nathan and Shiloh started the moving process. They spent the rest of the day cleaning the house and making sure it was aired out. They visited Mag but didn't stay long, they wanted to have the house finished before Mag was ready to come home, and Mag herself had been exhausted and drugged-out from the pain pills.
oOOo
Packing up the cottage seemed to take forever. Who knew that over the years Mag could collect so much stuff?
Shiloh put her dad in charge of the kitchen while she packed up the living room. She had just finished boxing up the last of the pictures when she opened the closet behind the piano.
Inside was a bunch of coats and other assorted items, which she quickly boxed up. After clearing the closet, Shiloh uncovered a box labeled with a bunch of dates and colors listed next to them. Unable to resist, Shiloh opened it and found slim binders full of music, each one a different color. The music inside was handwritten on slightly yellowed with age paper, but it was clear that Mag had written them, the handwriting was the same. She couldn't overcome her curiosity though, and flipped gently through the binders, coming across a few pieces of sheet music listed simply as 'Marni'. Her mother had written these.
Closing the binder Shiloh put it back in the box quickly and felt like she had seen something she wasn't meant to see yet, kind of like finding the Christmas presents before they were wrapped. She quickly made a vow that before she went any further she would ask Mag if it was okay to go through it. The box had been hidden away, so Mag had probably put it there for a reason.
She grabbed a few empty boxes before going into Mag's room, knowing that it would take her a while to pack everything. She turned on the radio while she worked through Mag's closet, trying to keep track of where she put everything so she could borrow stuff later. She was momentarily distracted when the DJ came on the air.
"Well folks, it looks like things are shaping up in the Geneco world again. Reactions from the almost wedding between Songbird Blind Mag and and Geneco CEO Rotti Largo still echo across the city. Reports of Mr. Largo's failing health have reached us here at the studio and we wish him a speedy recovery.
On a happier note, with the details still unknown as to how she was wounded, we are pleased to report that Blind Mag is recovering nicely and will be released from the hospital within the next week. While she was unavailable to comment, we do know that Shiloh Wallace has been reunited with her father, Dr. Nathan Wallace, who from our source within the company says wasn't dead at all but held captive by one of Blind Mag's crazed fans. Apparently, the fan has been apprehended and Dr. Wallace reunited with his daughter. Here is her newest single, Skin"
Shiloh frowned as the opening chords started and switched the stereo to play the old Sarah Brightman CD that Mag had left in it. She couldn't care less about Rotti, but she had thought that there were enough reporters at the wedding to make sure the story got out. What bothered her even more were the lies told about her father's disappearance. Guess Rotti had enough power even when dying to make sure that he wouldn't be blamed for anything.
Shaking her head she allowed the soothing music to calm her down and moved on to the pictures on the mantle. It didn't take her long to pack up the rest of the room.
oOOo
Nathan paced nervously while he waited for Shiloh to get dressed. Today was the day that Mag was coming home. But, before they left he had to have a serious talk with his daughter.
Shiloh bounced down the stairs.
"Shiloh? Can I talk to you for a bit before we go?"
He led her into the overstuffed living room. He took Shiloh's hands in his before taking a deep breath. Shiloh's mind flashed back to not that long ago when they had sat in the same position just before this whole mess started. She swallowed and looked up at her father expectantly.
"Shiloh, I will always love your mother. I don't ever want you to think anything different. Every day I had with her was one I will treasure; I only wish you could have known her. You inherited everything that is wonderful from her and I know she will always be watching over you." Nathan paused as he got to the heart of the matter, taking a deep breath before he got out what he wanted to say.
"I want to ask Mag to marry me. After all these years I still love her and it would mean a lot to me if you were okay with this."
Shiloh ignored the tears in her eyes and hugged her dad. "I know you loved mom Daddy. I always knew it. I want you to be happy. I want you both to be happy."
Nathan smiled through his tear-filled eyes and hugged her before pulling out the ring he had picked out. He opened the box and admitted to buying it while she was visiting Mag the day before.
"I don't know when I am going to ask, but I want to be prepared."
Shiloh looked at the simple ring, the single diamond sparkled as it caught the light and the white gold band shined against the blue velvet box it rested in. Looking up at her dad she smiled.
"It's absolutely perfect dad."
oOOo
To say Mag was excited to be getting out of the hospital was the understatement of the century. She hated the thought of being in the same building as the man who had almost killed her. According to the doctors it wouldn't be long until Rotti passed away from his cancer. Once that happened she had no idea what she was going to do. She had been singing for most of her adult life and didn't know anything else. Mag had never thought that she would be grateful to Rotti for anything, but when he had publicly attacked her and Shiloh after the failed wedding he had absolved them from the contracts they had signed. The only good that had come of this was the SurGens and Genterns had stopped calling her Mrs. Largo.
Shiloh couldn't care less about Rotti's impending death and had gone as far as telling him so. He had tried to visit Mag a few days after she had woken up but Shiloh had caught him before he had opened the door. She had just come out of Mag's room to go get a cup of coffee for her father when she saw him being pushed towards Mag's room in a wheelchair with a flower in his hands. A single, white lily.
At that moment she finally understood the meaning of the phrase 'seeing red'. Shiloh had folded her arms and planted her feet before hissing at him to go.
"Leave now. We don't want you here and I know that Mag would agree with me when I say I hope you find a dark hole and crawl in it and die. Cancer is the easy way out. Come near me, Mag, or my father again and I swear that I will find a way to kill you."
She glared at him and waited until the nurse wheeled him back towards his room. She waited until he was almost down the hall before she spoke again.
"Just to let you know, Mag hates lilies!" She yelled.
Mag had listened to the conversation and laughed lightly. She knew that no matter what, she had her family and there was nothing Rotti could do to change that.
Mag's memory session was interrupted by Shiloh coming in to help her get ready to go home. It was slightly less embarrassing than accepting help from the male Gentern that had been assigned to her.
Once she was ready, they made her ride out in a wheelchair, completely ignoring her when she insisted she could walk.
"I wasn't shot in the leg for heaven's sake!"
Shiloh giggled and picked up the red roses Nathan had given Mag, knowing that she hated feeling like an invalid. Once they got her in the car Nathan drove them home, all of the, ignoring the flashes of the media's cameras as they exited the hospital grounds.
oOOo
Mag sat back and watched Nathan drive. Something was up, she could tell. He had looked at Shiloh and winked one too many times for it just to be happiness. They passed the road that would have taken them home and Nathan didn't say anything, just kept staring ahead and smiling.
Mag looked back at Shiloh and found her smiling and looking out the window too. She debated asking what was going on, but decided against it. She would join in on whatever was going on and not spoil their fun. It wasn't like they would tell her anyway. After awhile the city became suburbs, and after that the houses became few and far between, and when there were any, there little pocket of houses together in all that space. This was where Nathan pulled over.
He got out of the car and walked around to open her door. Taking her hand, he helped her out of the car. She looked around and saw that the huge hovercraft was only a speck in the distance and in between them and the city was a large field. The air so far away from the city here was pure and the sky was actually a dingy shade of blue instead of the gray-black it was in the city.
Mag turned to look at Nathan with a curious gleam in her eyes. He gently turned her around and she saw two abandoned houses next to each other. Nathan smiled and pulled her along. Something was very familiar about this place. It wasn't the sights, in all the memories she could conjure up, nothing even looked like this at all, it was some deeper memory that she couldn't name. For some reason the number 203 popped in her head. As they walked, she tried to puzzle out what the number and the place could be. Suddenly it hit her.
120 steps to the right. Grope left, big stick pushed into the ground. Feel. Run hands until you find the twig on the side. Follow twig direction 30 steps. Turn left. 32 steps straight. Stop. Bend down, feel water. Walk over creek, don't get wet. 21 steps forward. Lean forward. Feel the smooth rock. Sit down. 230 steps done. Now wait. Wait for him.
Nathan.
She knew where they were going. They hadn't been there since he left for medical school. That had been where they had said their last goodbyes. She had been 16, he 19.
"It'll only be for a little while Maggie. Don't worry; I'll be back soon enough.
She closed her eyes as they walked, relinquishing the sight and letting all her old instincts come back. As she walked, she counted steps for the first time in almost 20 years. The stick was gone, the creek dried up, but it was still as familiar as it had always been. And finally, they got to where they would stop. She leaned over and felt the rock, opening her eyes and seeing where she had spent so much of her childhood for the first time in her life. The rock was larger than she imagined it would be, but worn even more smooth than she remembered. It was a light gray color. Gray like Nathan's shirt.
Mag whispered, overcome by emotions she couldn't quite put a name too. "Nate, this is where we met..." Memories of that day were treasures that she had held on to during the years. They were a little strange and fuzzy because she hadn't seen the events, but it was as if those particular ones would have been even less special if she had watched him come up behind her. She remembered his touch on her hand, her tears on her face. The grass on her legs. The sun on her face, and her hair down her back. And his voice.
"It's okay. You don't have to cry anymore. I'll be your friend, and your Daddy can look down from heaven and see that you're happy. That's what my mommy told me when grampa died."
They had both been so young, she was probably four and he five or six.
Nathan smiled and got down on one knee, taking her hand in his and looking up into her eyes.
"I let you go once before because you asked me to. Now I'm asking you to stay here with me, with us. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you again and I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that never happens. When I was in that cell only my memories of you and Shiloh kept me going and I knew that as long as I lived I would love you. Magdalene Defoe will you marry me?"
Tears filled her eyes and slipped down her cheeks.
"Oh Nathan… Yes of course!"
Nathan picked her up and spun around once (carefully so he wouldn't jostle her arm) before kissing her again, slipping the ring on her finger and taking her hand.
Shiloh, meanwhile, had been sitting under a tree near the car waiting for them to get back. When she saw them appear from the distance she jumped up and ran, throwing herself at her father and hugging them both. She grabbed Mag's hand and gushed over the ring, all the while noticing the happy smile on Mag's face
"I guess that means we can turn the guest room into the baby's room now, huh?" Shiloh said, and Mag and her father burst out in laughter.
oOOo
The days seemed to pass quickly after that. Much of their time was spent putting the house in order and getting a room ready for the baby.
About two weeks after Nathan had proposed to Mag they got a call from Rotti's lawyer telling them of Rotti's passing. Apparently he had died an agonizingly slow death alone in his hospital room. Shiloh had become furious at the lawyer and told him that it was less than the monster had deserved. She was about to hang up on the man when he told her that Rotti had made up a new will not long before he had died and that she and her godmother would need to come to the tower for the reading. Once she had conferred with her father and Mag they set a time to go down and listen to what Rotti had done.
"I don't care what he left. I don't want any of it. I just want this whole thing to be over!" Mag protested as Nathan opened her car door for her. Nathan smiled at his fiancée and shook his head.
"I know. I do too." He said, kissing her one last time before they climbed in next to Shiloh. The drive to the tower was short, the ride in the elevator was long. By the time the doors opened to Rotti's office Shiloh and Mag were both ready to scream and Nathan was on edge. Her father placed and on her shoulder and whispered calming words before pushing her gently to the chairs in front of the desk.
The lawyer looked nervously at the Ex-RepoMan and greeted them, dropping down into his chair as soon as he had let go of Mag's hand and flipping open the folder that lay in front of him. Shiloh listened to the proceedings and a pit of anger grew.
"Everything in his estate, Miss Wallace, has been left to you. Your guardian is Mrs. Lar… I mean Miss Defoe until you are old enough to take over GeneCo's property and holdings."
Rotti had left her everything and had Mag stand as guardian of the estate until she old enough to take over.
'As if he couldn't have just given it all to charity. Maybe then he would have somehow had some respect for him, but no. He had to leave it all to me'. Shiloh thought. They thanked the lawyer for his time and signed all of the documents before leaving the building as fast as they could.
"I don't want any of it. Can we just... I don't know." Shiloh trailed off. Her father knew how much it hurt her to know what Rotti had done to his own children. To find out that he had changed his will after he had murdered them to leave everything to her, the child (and godchild) of his obsessions, was enough to make her sick to her stomach.
"We'll talk about it when we get home." Mag said as she met Shiloh's eyes in the rear view mirror. She felt Shiloh's anger coming off her in waves, and she knew this was not going to be easy to get over.
oOOo
A Few Months Later
Shiloh paced the hallway in front of her Mag's hospital room, stopping every now and again when she heard a yelp or a scream. She smiled when Mag's voice became loud enough that Shiloh could hear what she was yelling at Nathan.
"You are never touching me again!" This was followed by a very long scream. Shiloh laughed, Mag had decided to go for a natural birth and it sounded like she was regretting that decision. Grinning like an idiot Shiloh sat down in the chair outside the door.
A lot had happened over the last few months.
Her father had taken over Geneco, slowly making progress in turning it into the company that it should have been. Repossessions were illegal again; instead all violators were forced to be part of the cleanup crew for the city until they paid off their debt. It wasn't the perfect solution but for now it seemed to work. Mag and Shiloh had resumed their posts as being the voices of Geneco. Too much change too quickly was bound to breed chaos and this was the best way to get their message across.
Her father and Mag had gotten married in the countryside, in a small church they had both attended in their youth. There were only five people in attendance, and only one of those was a reporter. Shiloh had stood up with Mag and served as the witness to the marriage, pictures of them were everywhere once Cherry Harry had turned in the article. Mag had worn a simple dress that accented her slightly swollen stomach and Nathan had worn a suit (much to his chagrin) that actually belonged to him. Once again the minister was the same man that Nathan had saved all those months ago and this time, no one objected to the union.
Shiloh was shaken out of her memories by the door to the hospital room opening and the sound of an infant's squalling filled the hallway. She jumped up and was quickly assisted into an ugly green smock before she was allowed in to meet the newest member of her family. Entering the room Shiloh saw an exhausted Mag propped up against the raised mattress holding her little sister, covered in sweat and singing a soft lullaby to the baby girl, a smile as wide as her screams had been loud.
Nathan was standing next to the bed and had his arm wrapped around Mag's shoulders as he gazed down at his child. Mag looked up as Shiloh approached and gave her a tired smile, tears filled both their eyes as she was told her sisters name. "We've decided to call her Jocelyn."
oOOo
That's it folks, that's my version of how Repo! The Genetic Opera could have been and I hope you liked it. It has been said over on the SBOS that a certain fan had been waiting for a twist like mine during the movie and I am now glad to say that I have completed it.
My first-ever full length Fanfiction! Yay Me!
Thanks go to, first and foremost, my excellent Beta Reader and sometimes Co-Author. Tawnyleaf you are awesome! I couldn't have finished without your help! The rest of my thanks go to the readers that reviewed the story, and my friends over on the SBOS. Y'all rock!
Emengee
P.S. If I get enough response I may add a little extra something in one shot format. While I was waiting for my muse to quit belting out Sarah Brightman tunes at the top of her lungs (She's a HUGE fan, lol) or while my beta was editing chapters, I jotted down a few little special features. Once again please review!